Cassava Farming: How To Start

As we become adults, we are tasked with making money and providing a living for our families. We choose different paths and occupations based on different factors. If you’re looking for a job that will give you financial stability and fulfillment, try your hand at farming.

Cassava farming in Nigeria is a growing industry that attracts more and more entrepreneurs. The future of cassava farming is very bright, so if you’re looking for an industry to join, here is a guide to farming cassava in Nigeria.

1. Reasons to start cassava farming

Before starting any enterprise, you need to decide why exactly you want to do it. With cassava making the right decision is pretty easy, since growing cassava is a popular and profitable business for many reasons:

Nigerian food industry, which can’t be imagined without cassava. Gari and Eba are two dishes that every Nigerian is familiar with, and cassava is their main ingredient. As a staple of Nigerian cuisine, cassava will never lose its popularity.

Export opportunities – although cassava is consumed primarily in Africa, there are several countries in the world with a high demand for this product, which means you can become a leading Nigerian cassava exporter in no time.

Versatile product – unlike many other popular Nigerian fruits and vegetables, cassava is consumed to the last bit. Roots are used in cooking, leaves are used for feeding livestock, and stems allow for planting more cassava for the next season.

2. Cassava farming business plan

Like any other business, cassava farming cannot be successful without thorough research and a business plan that lists your potential expenses and steps you need to take in order to start the farm. Creating a business plan should be your first step on the way to your dream business.

Normally, your business plan should include all kinds of information relevant to cassava farming: for example, a feasibility research, a look at the competitor, the staff, and their salaries, and ways of selling the product. However, the part regarding expenses may be the most important one.

All in all, starting from the cost of the land and up to the marketing cost, opening your cassava business can cost up to ₦400,000, not including the staff salaries – that’s in case you’re doing everything from scratch and don’t rely on high-end equipment too much.

3. How to start cassava farming in Nigeria

If you’ve made the calculations, considered the pros and cons of cassava farming, and finally want to start your very own business, you need to know everything regarding how to start a cassava processing company.

There are several essential steps to follow in order to grow cassava and, eventually, open a cassava processing plant. The first step, as we’ve already found out, is creating a business plan. Then you need to do the following:

Choose the land. There is plenty of land in Nigeria suited for farming. In order to grow cassava, look for the land that is flat, has a good soil texture, and there are already successfully growing plants near that particular piece of land.

Prepare the land. No matter how good your piece of land is, it still needs some improvement. Create good seedbeds, fertilize your soil if necessary, and make sure your cassava won’t be in conflict with the neighboring plants.

Choose the cassava to plant. Out of dozens of varieties of cassava available for planting in Nigeria, make sure to choose the one that is widely used in the food industry, is not subjected to any diseases, can be successfully stored for a long time, and produces a good crop.

Plant your cassava. Choose healthy cassava cuttings for planting, and take into account various conditions like time of the year, the size and type of the seedbed, and your preferred processing method.

Grow, harvest, and sell your crops. If you’ve done everything right, the profit won’t keep you waiting, and soon you’ll be able to scale your business, acquire more land, and grow more cassava.